Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 174623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
"They come out for school, but Dean, the little boy, has night terrors. Poor thing looks like a zombie most days."
"Therapy?"
"Three times a week for Dean," Victoria answers as she takes a seat at her own desk. "Twice a week for Daisy. Dana stayed, thinking her husband was only abusing her, but left when her husband threatened to move on to their daughter when she refused to perform her wifely duties."
I wince.
"Pretty bad situation all the way around," Victoria says. "Both kids are traumatized from watching the abuse, and I think the mental health side of things for others in the home is often overlooked when someone is considering leaving."
"Had Daisy been abused?" I asked.
Victoria shakes her head. "She says she hasn't. The forensic interviewer detected some grooming behaviors, but no evidence that abuse had started yet."
"Thank goodness," I say, trying not to look at Dana's case as an outsider looking in.
It's so easy to blame an abuse survivor for not leaving sooner when they haven't lived that situation themselves. It's a lot harder than most people realize.
"Melissa and Caroline are the other two women. They're both at work. Melissa works at a small grocery store down the road, and Caroline works at the local nursing home. Traci had a job at one of the restaurants in town, but the swelling in her feet made it impossible to keep up."
"And Dana?" I ask.
"Dana hasn't worked since high school, where she met her abuser. He kept her pretty much locked down and alienated for the last eleven years. We'll help her with employment when she's ready," she explains. "If you log into your computer, I can help you get set up in the system."
Chapter 11
Nyx
I track her car the second she pulls up, having noticed it at the clubhouse several days ago.
She stays in her car, looking all around the area before gaining the confidence to step out.
Knowing what I know about her through Max's research seems like a violation of her privacy, even though it will help us keep her as safe as we can.
I keep my eyes locked on her, the mic in my ear silent as Holler monitors the back of the property.
She's parked on the street, the handful of black SUVs in the parking area making it look like some high-ranking politician has stopped by for a visit.
It always looks like this when Emmalynn, Beth, and Misty come to Juniper House. Security is literally tripled when they're here because all Cerberus men are insanely protective of their loved ones.
As crazy as it looks, it doesn't feel like overkill, even to me, someone who isn't romantically attached to another person. As far as I'm concerned, every woman should be protected at the same level, with the same vigilance, though I know that isn't possible for the average person.
Cerberus's security for their loved ones is in place for good reason. The club has created many powerful enemies simply by ensuring women aren't abused. They've cut the heads off many snakes, but those who aren't impressed with Cerberus just seem to keep multiplying. Severing avenues of making money for sex traffickers tends to piss a lot of people off—those making the money, and those looking to spend their money on devious acts against women and children.
I know from the daily report that today is Juliet's second day here. I wasn't on shift for Juniper yesterday on her first day, and it gnawed at me for some reason. But updates on Graham Whitmore and knowing he was still on the East Coast made it easier not to jump on my bike and swing by.
I don't know if the meeting with her was Kincaid’s way of trying to humanize me a little more or what, but seeing her, listening to her speak about her history working in various women's shelters, and understanding why she chose this line of work had a way of getting to me more than usual.
It was the first time since working with Cerberus that I had encountered a woman face-to-face when I wasn't actively trying to stop someone from hurting her. All the other times, it had been raids or distant surveillance.
Her safety somehow feels like a personal mission for me now, and I'm not a man who doesn't succeed.
Memories of my mother try to flash in my head, and the failures I suffered as a child growing up with an abusive father, but I shove them down as much as I can. I owe it to the women inside to be fully present. Distractions aren't a luxury, even if it were something I did want to spend time thinking about, which they aren't.
"Juliet is here," I say, knowing that Holler and Victoria can hear my voice through their own comm units.
"Thank you," Victoria says.
"10-4," Holler says.
"Leona Saint is expected within the hour as well," Victoria says.